RAF Barnham, just south of Thetford, has become the focus of weeks of anger since the Home Office earmarked it as one of three sites in the country to house asylum seekers. Two town council meetings descended into chaos, two people were arrested after an MP was pursued through the streets, and hundreds protested at the gates.
Wildlife zone
But amid all the furore, the plans may face their biggest hurdle yet in the form of the stone curlew – one of Britain’s rarest birds, which nests in the countryside around the site. The bird’s habitats are protected by law, and local councillors argue the site cannot therefore be used for asylum-seeker accommodation.
The military base lies within the Breckland Special Protection Area, an internationally designated wildlife zone stretching across Norfolk and Suffolk. Barnham Cross Common, which borders the base, also carries protections as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
The areas have these protections largely because they are habitat for the stone curlew and other rare birds, including woodlarks and nightjars. The area shelters one of the largest breeding populations of stone curlew in Europe, with around 450 thought to be living in the Brecks. Wessex is the only other UK area these migrants visit.
Protected bird
An elusive bird notoriously sensitive to human disturbance, it relies on the area’s bare, stony ground and short-grazed grass to forage. Their presence has repeatedly disrupted planning applications in and around the Brecks in the past.
The RSPB calls them “probably the strangest-looking bird in England” with googly-eyes, but with co-operation from farmers, it has had success restoring their diminishing numbers.
The summer visitors are now listed as ‘Amber conservation status’ having previously been on the ‘Red list’. This means that they were critically endangered – less than 100 breeding pairs in the east in 1985 – but have now recovered to 226 pairs.
Council letter to government
Cliff Waterman, Labour leader of West Suffolk Council, has written to the government to argue that binding ecological constraints designed to protect the bird rule out the Barnham development.
In a letter to Alex Norris, minister for border security and asylum, Cllr Waterman argued that the protections make the base unworkable as an asylum-seeker site.
“The exceptionally high legal threshold imposed by the Habitats Regulations … leads us to conclude that development here will not be possible,” he wrote. “Case law has ensured the protection of this special habitat from human activity and prevented development in the past … extensive efforts … to try and overcome these regulations have all failed previously … The Government cannot give itself permission without meeting the requirements of the Habitats Regulations … I have strongly advised the minister to reconsider Barnham as a potential site for asylum accommodation.”
Chaotic meeting
Under the rules, permission can only be granted if it is shown – beyond reasonable scientific doubt – that a scheme will not harm the protected site.
The protections have long tied the hands of housebuilders, restricting development across large parts of West Suffolk too – which led Mr Waterman to argue that the Home Office should not be exempt from rules that apply to everyone else.
Wildlife concerns also surfaced at a chaotic Thetford Town Council meeting earlier this month. The session collapsed into farce, with residents locked outside a full building trying to force their way past police guarding the doors.
Special powers
It remains unclear how the Home Office intends to secure permission for the base’s new use. There are fears locally that it could use special development powers to bypass the normal planning process – the same route used to push through asylum accommodation at former RAF sites at Wethersfield, Essex, and Scampton, Lincolnshire. Both schemes ended in lengthy legal battles with local councils.
The Home Office considers the plans are at an early stage, subject to planning permission, feasibility and due diligence, with no final decision until all necessary assessments and approvals are in place.
It is understood that the government intends to consult with local authorities before moving ahead. However it will retain the right to overrule possible objections.
This article is based on a piece from the Local Democracy Reporting Service and edited by East Anglia Bylines.
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